Mark T. Riley

Significant Representative Matters

• Defense verdict for manufacturer of boat trailer hitch which allegedly severely injured owner. Plaintiff argued a defective design of the hitch caused it to come unhitched while being towed. The defense established that the design was safe and that the product was misused by plaintiff. 

• Tried motor vehicle case, which ultimately established new Pennsylvania motor vehicle case law permitting a defendant to get a sudden emergency charge to the jury in addition to an assured clear distance charge in rear end collision cases. 

• Multiple defense verdicts for health club chain for injuries allegedly caused by facility. These included allegations of defective flooring in aerobics studios allegedly causing ankle fractures, trip and fall cases, and negligent instruction claims. 

• Defended Township in case in which Plaintiff motorist was severely injured when a manhole cover detached, causing an accident. The case was dismissed on Motion for Summary Judgment for lack of notice. 

• Defense verdict in electrocution case allegedly resulting from inadequate lock-out/tag-out procedures. Plaintiff sustained catastrophic burn injuries over the majority of his body when he contacted a live circuit while cleaning switch gear in a large industrial plant. Plaintiff contended that the facility owner should have tagged the live circuits and locked all related switches. Defendant established that it need not warn or protect plaintiff, who had equal or superior knowledge of the hazards involved. 

• Dismissal of municipality for brain injuries sustained by sanitation worker based on immunities afforded by the Pennsylvania Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act. Plaintiff was walking behind a compacting trash truck at a landfill when its door flew open, striking him in the head. 

• Defense verdict in professional liability action against psychiatric practice group where Plaintiff committed suicide. Plaintiff was an editor of a city newspaper who had become suicidal. He had been admitted into an intensive outpatient treatment program and seemed to be making good progress. In the middle of the night, he left his family home, drove to a nearby bridge, and jumped to his death. Defendants established that the care provided was exemplary and that plaintiff's act could not have been foreseen or prevented. 

• Defense verdict for a driver involved in chain reaction collision with finding of no negligence on Defendant driver. The defendant established that he was presented with a sudden emergency created by local traffic conditions and limited visibility. 

Published Works

• "When Rules Collide: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Clarifies Relationship Between Assured Clear Distance Rule and Sudden Emergency Doctrine," Defense Digest, 1999 

• "Employment of Independent Contractors and the Peculiar Risk Doctrine," Defense Digest, 1993 

• "Practical Considerations in Defending the Peculiar Risk Case," Defense Digest, 1993 

Classes/Seminars Taught

• Numerous presentations to insurance carriers regarding Pennsylvania Automobile Law 

• Auto Law Update, Pennsylvania Bar Institute in Philadelphia 

• Pennsylvania Evidence Update, Pennsylvania Bar Institute in Atlantic City, New Jersey 

• Family Medical Leave Act, Pennsylvania Claims Association 

Education

• Villanova University School of Law, Villanova, Pennsylvania, 1987 J.D. 

• Villanova University, 1984 B.S.

  Major: Accounting